


The Trouble Trio

by ginnekomiko



Category: Pocket Monsters: Gold & Silver & Crystal | Pokemon Gold Silver Crystal Versions, Pokemon Colosseum
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2016-05-20
Packaged: 2018-02-25 15:50:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2627372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginnekomiko/pseuds/ginnekomiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is the third plot in the Johto arc.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Three Thieves

When Father gave him the okay to start a special squad within the organization, he was happy. It meant that he was trusted to not screw things up.

Not bad for an eight-year-old.

Something moved in the shadows. The tiny light from a fire pokemon entered his vision.

“I know you’re there, Tori,” he said.

Black hair, blue eyes, and a mismatched uniform that was too big for his small frame. A Cyndaquil hung from his shoulder.  

“What did you catch?”

 The boy scoffed. “Nothing much, just a dumb Magikarp. Sorry Aki.”

“It can still be used. Give it to G. He can probably evolve it with a little work.”

Tori thought for a moment. “Hmm, a Gyarados would be cool to have.”

“You’re late. Did you get caught?”

 Tori’s grin was mischievous and wide. “Nah, I’m too quick, remember? I was just trying to be sneaky ‘cause the guy I took it from went ballistic. It was funny to watch! Right, Cyndaquil?”

Who would get so worked up over having a Magikarp stolen?

The door behind them opened. A girl with brown hair entered the room.

“Hey, Nia,” Aki said.

No answer.

She presented him with five pokeballs.

“Nice job!”

Again, no answer. She simply sat in a corner and stroked her Totodile’s head.

 “Lord Akio,” a voice asked.

This person was just a grunt, but still an adult. He must have come in with Nia.

 “Yes?”

“The Boss wants to see you,” said the grunt.

He was lead into an elegant room.  Beyond the vast, polished desk his Father sat comfortably in the leather easy chair; his eyes squarely on him.

“Good evening, Father,” he said.

 “Hello, Akio. How are things going?”

“Fine. Nia and Tori are doing really well.”

“Good, good. Listen son, I’m going to head to Silph Co. I want you to take your team and infiltrate the radio tower in Goldenrod. There’s something I want in there.”

“What is that something?” he asked.

“You’ll know it when you see it.”

Aki bowed. His long red hair almost hid his face. “Thank you, Father; I won’t let you down.”

“I know you won’t, son,” he said.

If he failed, he wouldn’t be the only one to suffer.

 


	2. Observation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :In which Aki tries to figure out his father's interest in Satoko.

It was Aki’s job to observe the target they were going to capture. Her name was Satoko. She was from a little town in Kanto. Apparently, his father had first observed her there. Aki was to study her habits, the time she practiced, when she ate and slept. She didn’t have any pokemon with her, so she wouldn’t be much of a fight against him, but still, they had to be careful. She had ties to some powerful people.  
  
Aki watched her for days on end, never faltering in his devotion to his father’s plan.  
  
At first, he didn’t notice anything remarkable about the girl with black hair and red eyes. She was average in every conceivable way. It was not until he heard the girl sing that he understood why his father had such an interest in her. It wasn’t the quality of her voice, despite the fact she was quite good. No, it was the fact that a flock of wild Spearow had flown by and then stopped to listen to her. He’d never seen anything like it before. How could a whole flock of wild pokemon be so drawn to a human voice? That seemed impossible. Though, now that he thought about it, G had a son whom he said could understand the hearts of pokemon, but Aki had never seen the boy use the ability. As far as he knew, G was lying about his son’s talents to stay in favor with his father.  
  
But after seeing this girl, maybe there was some truth to G’s claim. Perhaps, after this mission was done, Aki would pay G’s mysterious son a little visit. They were the same age after all, an alliance with a boy like that could be worthwhile.


	3. The Boy in the Room

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Aki checks out G's son.

His task had been completed. Akio carried the unconscious Eevee in his arms. He had not expected this outcome. His target _had_ been a human girl. Her transformation had not been induced by anything Team Rocket had done. She just, got swallowed by a strange white light and transformed into this shape. But a target was a target. He’d hit a small snag when he was chased by the scary boy with red eyes, but Tori and Nia had backed him up, challenging the boy to a fight neither of them could win, but they distracted him long enough to allow Aki to run away with the prize. Just what was his father planning to do with her? For now, he’d leave her with the other captured pokemon in the lab.  
  
On his way back, Aki passed by the room that belonged to G’s son. Gently, he knocked on the door.  
  
“Who is there?” a small voice asked.  
  
“My name is Akio,” he said into the darkness. “I am the son of the boss of the Rocket gang. I’d like to speak with you, if you have the time.”  
  
G’s son opened the door and stepped into the light. When their eyes met, he smiled. “Ah, Father mentioned them! I didn’t know the boss had a son around my age! How do you do? My name is Natural.”  
  
“Natural?” Aki asked.  
  
 The boy looked confused. “You know, like the number or in nature?”  
  
“Ah, yes, but I’ve never heard it used as a name before.”  
  
“Oh… Just call me N then.”  
  
“Okay. You can call me Aki, all my friends do.”  
  
“Friends?” N asked gently. “Do you… want to come in? I made some tea.”  
  
Aki shrugged. “Sure. I like tea.”  
  
The boy’s room was full of interesting things, model planes hung from the ceiling and toy trains were scattered on the floor. Somehow it felt oppressive and cramped. He watched as the boy amused himself by playing with a toy train. This child didn’t seem like anything special.  
  
“Tell me, N, can you really hear the voices of pokemon?” Aki asked.  
  
“Yes. Can’t you?” N said without looking up from his train.  
  
“No.”  
  
N closed his eyes. “I see. You closed your heart off at an early age.”  
  
 Aki drew back a bit. “You would too, if you had my father,” he muttered.  
  
 N smiled and pulled out a chair for Aki. “I love my father! He gave me this room!”  
  
 Aki sat down and took a cup of tea. He blew on it before he sipped. “Have you… ever been anywhere else?”  
  
 N shook his head. “No. father says I could get used if I leave. So I let you in here instead where I could watch you.”  
  
“And what have you determined?” Aki asked.  
  
“Well…”  
  
“So this is where you’ve been hiding. Lord, Akio. Your father is calling you,” G said. His tall frame blocked the open door way. “Natural, I did not say you could let anyone into your room.”  
  
“Ah, forgive me father. I was trying to forge an alliance. Aki, Will you come to play again?” N whispered in his ear.  
  
“Sure N. I’ll sneak in if I have to.”  
  
N grinned.  
  
“Later, old man,” Aki said as he walked out the door.  
  
Next time they met, Aki would take N outside. He needed to see more of the world than that little room.


	4. Closed Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Aki tires to stop a thief.

Aki had a few places within the hideout he was not allowed to go. One of them was the lab of a man who was working on a machine to help the rocket members capture pokemon that had previously belonged to other trainers. He wasn't sure exactly how it was supposed to work, but it would be easier then having the agents trying to physically grab the pokeballs while the trainer was distracted. Only their younger members could pull that trick off regularly. Tori was the best at it. Sometimes what he brought back wasn't great, like that Magikarp he'd snatched a while ago, but at least it could be useful.  He wondered if Nia was having any luck with her mission in the radio tower.  
  
As Aki passed through the surveillance room, he saw something explode on one of the cameras, cutting the feed into the supply room.  
  
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something move. Was that an Espeon or an Umbreon?  
  
Those pokemon were not common on Rocket teams. He only knew of one person who had them and he'd been MIA from the team for the past month.  
  
Despite his better judgment, he went to check it out.  
  
He saw a tall young man in a long blue coat. He was rushing through the supply room, grabbing as many empty pokeballs as he could carry.  
  
"Wes?" Aki demanded.  
  
The older boy put his finger to his mouth and shushed him. Aki paused something metallic had taken over Wes's left arm.   
  
"Don't tell anyone I'm here," Wes said.  
  
"What are you going to do with those?" Aki asked.  
  
"I'm going to run away, obviously."  
  
"But why? You're one of our best members we have! And you can't just take our best tech!"  
  
"I can and I will. It's too dangerous for people like Team Rocket. I've seen what they do to the Pokemon they take from other trainers; it's not pretty, Aki. They close off their hearts and turn them into emotionless weapons. They took what they did to Nia and applied it elsewhere."  
  
Aki flinched. Nia and her sister, Nana, had not been willing recruits to Team Rocket. At the time, they had no other choice, no place to go, and it was fine so long as they were never asked to work on capture missions. Nia especially, had been far too kind for that sort of thing. Pokemon were tools; that's what all grunts were taught. They were not friends, they were not pets; they were a means to an end.  
  
If only Nia hadn't seen G's lab.  
  
Aki wasn't sure exactly what Nia saw in there, but it had scared her. It scared her so much that another lab member, C, agreed to do some experimental procedure involving the move Hypnosis.  
  
Nia was never the same after the first treatment. While it erased her fears, she had trouble remembering things, things she and Nana experienced together. The treatment also seemed to close off her heart. She never smiled anymore. She no longer treated Aki like a friend, just a commander.  
  
"Are you going to let me go or are we going to have to battle?" Wes asked.  
  
Aki assessed his situation. Both Espeon and Umbreon looked ready to fight. Wes's pokemon were strong. Aki's own team was far under-leveled in comparison.  Still, he twirled the small pokeball between his fingers. The feed was cut, so that helped matters.  
  
Aki nodded. "Get out of here."  
  
Wes did not need another word. He swiftly exited the room, Espeon and Umbreon in tow.  
  
Aki sighed. He needed to come up with a cover story.   
  
"What was all the commotion?" Tori asked as he ran out into the hall.  
  
 "Wes ditched," Aki said.  
  
Tori sighed."Aww man, this is not going to end well once the boss man finds out. Oh, Nia's back from her radio tower mission; thought you should know. She's heading this way."  
  
Aki nodded. "Thanks, Tori."  
  
Nia gazed at him when she saw him run down the hall. The hypnosis treatment left her eyes focused, disturbingly focused. "Nia, thank goodness you're back! I need you to track the intruder, please," Aki said. "But don't engage him, just follow him."  
  
"Understood," she said with a nod.  
  
Maybe Wes had the right idea after all. Whatever father was doing, it was getting dangerous.  Only, how would they get out? He trusted Tori to hold his own, but Nia... and what about G's son could he be saved too?  
  
First, he needed to see what _exactly_ was going on in the labs below the Rocket-owned casino.


	5. Lab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki makes his way into the underground lab in the Game Corner.

The door to the Game Corner opened its doors automatically. A bell chimed at his entrance.  

"Lord Akio," said a grunt with the tip of his hat.

"What exactly are you doing here?" Aki asked.

"I'm guarding this poster," said the grunt.

"This poster?" Aki asked as he put his hand on the wall.

"Hey! Don't touch that! I mean! There's absolutely nothing behind the poster!"

There was totally a button behind the poster. Out of sheer defiance, Aki pressed it. One of the bookshelves moved to reveal a staircase.

Aki bolted down the stairs.

He had to be quick about this. If he messed up on the warp panels, he would surely be caught. Hopefully his luck would hold.

"Stop him!" one of the grunts cried from upstairs.

Great. He couldn't take his time to think. He had to do everything while running.

"Emergency! The pokemon in the lab have escaped!" a voice over the loudspeaker called.

Lab? There was a lab down here? He ran for one of the diamond tiles on the floor and hoped it would work. Hopefully, this escape attempt would keep them distracted.

He relaxed as he felt the warp tile work. He landed gently on a tile in a different room. Please let this be on a different floor.

"Catch that Eevee! It's the leader!" a voice called.

Aki paused. An Eevee and a Chikorita were leading a heard of pokemon behind it. For a second, their eyes locked.

That Eevee had striking red eyes. They looked almost human. Well, he could offer a little help. "Catch!" he called tossing an item towards them. That Smoke Ball should offer a distraction. Once it exploded he dove for the nearest warp panel.

It led him to a part of the lab he'd never seen before. It was crawling with strange pink blobs that liked to change shapes.

"Dittos?" her murmured. He'd never seen so many in one place before.

A tiny creature was in what looked like a cradle. Upon seeing him, it cried weakly and reached up its balled hand at him.

" _What_ are you?" Aki asked.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aki finds a baby pokemon.

The room Aki had entered was a laboratory. It was sparsely populated and smelled sterile. He heard crying. He glanced around, trying to find the source of the sound.

It was coming from a cradle in the center of the lab. The small thing was covered with a blanket. It peeked at him for a moment before coming out. Its balled fingers opened and closed. It looked human in a way, but its small gray and purple body had more of a feline quality to it. The long purple tail made it look more animalistic, too.

“Mew..two?” he read the name aloud from the computer on the desk near the cradle. He remembered his father hand mentioned Mew before, but that was supposed to be one of the rarest pokemon on the planet.

 Wait, was this tiny _thing_ a pokemon?

“What are you?” Aki asked softly.

 _What are you?_ A tiny voice echoed in his head.

Aki drew back. It was telepathic!

“I’m a human,” he answered.

_Ah, you’re like the others who visit me. I suppose the question is: who are you?_

It asked its questions in a tiny, but sure voice. If it was a psychic type, it was probably very smart.

“I’m Aki,” he said.

 Mewtwo cocked its head. _A-ki?_

“That’s right. Are you all by yourself?”

  _Usually. Umm…_

“What is it?”

Mewtwo held out its arms as if it wanted to be picked up. It was strange, but Aki obliged.

 It leaned into the boy’s chest. _You’re very warm._

 Aki smiled. It was cute in its own way.

There was a loud crashing sound in the room adjacent to the lab.

“What the heck is that?” Aki said aloud. He held the baby close.

_That’s the testing area._

Behind the sealed door, through a large window Aki saw as a Houndour ravaged the testing area with fire and fangs.

He’d never seen a Houndour act like that before. Sure they _looked_ scary, but he knew the breed well. He had one of his own. It was chasing an unseen something in the room like it was prey.

 _Scary. Its heart is hurting and cramped._ Mewtwo clutched Aki’s shirt.

It was just as Wes had mentioned. Just what kinds of experiments were being approved by his father? Brain-washing, heart closing, and cloning? This seemed to run a lot deeper than petty crime.

The little pokemon still held onto him like a scared child.

“Don’t worry! I’m going to protect you!” Aki said, trying to sound braver than he felt.

_Your heart is beating fast, but I feel… truth in your words._

“What is the meaning of this?” The tall man demanded as he entered the lab.

Oh no, that was G’s voice! 

G’s long green hair seemed to bristle when he caught sight of Aki. “This lab is off limits to children.”

“I was just…. I heard this little one crying and…”

“Give that back to me,” G said as he walked closer.

 _No! I don’t want to go with him!_  The little pokemon cried.

Without thinking, Aki held the tiny pokemon and ran as fast as he could go. The next thing he knew, he felt weightless.


End file.
